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enWed, 19 Dec 2018 08:04:32 +0100Thu, 13 Dec 2018 10:04:11 +0100http://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1866.pnghttp://news.rwe.com/
144RWE Supervisory Board extends contract with Executive Board member Markus Krebberhttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-supervisory-board-extends-contract-with-executive-board-member-markus-krebber/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-supervisory-board-extends-contract-with-executive-board-member-markus-krebber/RWE AGThe Supervisory Board of RWE AG has appointed Dr. Markus Krebber (45) Chief Financial Officer of RWE AG for a further five years. Krebber has been a member of RWE’s Executive Board since October 2016. His current contract runs until the end of September 2019 and was extended until October 2024 per the resolution passed today.

Says Dr. Werner Brandt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of RWE AG, “I’m pleased that we were able to ensure that Markus Krebber will continue spearheading the Group and transforming the company together with Rolf Martin Schmitz.” He adds that in recent years, Krebber has been instrumental in the economic consolidation and strategic realignment of the Essen-based company.

]]>news,RWEAG,FinanceWed, 12 Dec 2018 11:21:27 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rwe-ae35-detail-001.jpg?10000RWE continues positive performance – robust first half of 2018http://news.rwe.com/2018-q2-en/
http://news.rwe.com/2018-q2-en/RWE AGRWE continues its positive business performance in the first half of 2018. Operations are developing as planned. The financial outlook and target for the dividend have been confirmed.

Due to the transaction with E.ON, RWE has adjusted its financial reporting for the Group in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). As a result of this change, the consolidated figures for the RWE Group are only of limited informational value. Therefore, the focus rests on the key figures for ‘RWE stand-alone’ from now on. They encompass the Lignite & Nuclear, European Power and Supply & Trading divisions plus the innogy dividend. The company is using these key figures to steer its operating activities and determine the dividend for its shareholders.

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of €1.1 billion (first half of 2017: €1.4 billion) was achieved for ‘RWE stand-alone’ from January to June. Adjusted net income amounted to €683 million compared to €883 million in the first six months of 2017. RWE expects adjusted EBITDA of between €1.4 billion and €1.7 billion and adjusted net income of between €500 million and €800 million for the full year.

Transaction with E.ON makes further progress

At the beginning of May, E.ON, RWE and innogy, the companies’ respective group works councils and the trade unions ver.di and IGBCE agreed on a declaration of collective wage bargaining principles. In the middle of July, the companies agreed on fair integration processes. A first closing is expected to occur in the middle of 2019, once the relevant authorities have issued the necessary antitrust approvals. After this, E.ON will become innogy’s majority shareholder. E.ON’s and innogy’s renewable energy businesses will subsequently be transferred to RWE in addition to E.ON’s minority interest in the Gundremmingen and Emsland nuclear power stations. The same will apply to innogy’s gas storage business and the stake in Austria-based utility Kelag. A total of nearly €40 billion in assets will change ownership. This will transform RWE into the second-largest offshore wind operator and the No. 3 in renewable energy in Europe. Thanks to its diverse generation portfolio, RWE will stand for an energy transition with security of supply.

Lignite & Nuclear: decline in earnings as expected

In the first six months of 2018, adjusted EBITDA in the Lignite & Nuclear segment declined to €167 million (first half of 2017: €401 million). This was primarily due to the year-on-year drop in realised wholesale electricity prices. In addition, electricity generation volumes were down, in part owing to the shutdown of unit B of the Gundremmingen nuclear power station at the end of 2017 and scheduled maintenance outages. Cost-reducing measures had a counteracting effect. RWE continues to anticipate that this segment will achieved adjusted EBITDA of between €350 million and €450 million for the year as a whole.

European Power: operationally on a par year on year

Adjusted EBITDA in the European Power segment totalled €196 million (first half of 2017: €222 million). Disregarding the special items such as capital gains on property sales, which improved earnings in 2017, adjusted EBITDA matched the level achieved in the same period last year. The margins of gas and hard coal-fired power stations were slightly lower year on year. This was offset by the payments received for participating in the UK capacity market and the ongoing efficiency-enhancement programme. RWE still expects this segment to post adjusted EBITDA of between €300 million and €400 million for the full year.

Supply & Trading: very good performance in the second quarter of 2018

The Supply & Trading segment picked up the pace considerably towards the mid-year point. After six months, adjusted EBITDA amounted to €101 million (first half of 2017: €131 million).

Energy trading performance improved significantly compared to 2017, but the gas business failed to match the very high level of earnings recorded in the first half of last year. RWE continues to anticipate that this segment will achieve adjusted EBITDA of between €100 million and €300 million for the year as a whole.

innogy: dividend payment on a par with last year

In the second quarter, RWE received a dividend of €683 million from innogy. This matched last year’s amount. On 10 August, innogy published details on its earnings as part of its reporting for the first half of the year.

Net debt lower than at the end of 2017As of 30 June 2018, net debt directly attributable to RWE totalled €3.7 billion, about €800 million down on the level as of 31 December 2017.

Dividend increase for fiscal 2018 still planned

As business developed as planned and the medium-term earnings prospects are improving, RWE CFO Markus Krebber confirmed the outlook for the dividend: “Thanks to our robust operating performance and solid financing policy, we still plan to raise the ordinary dividend for fiscal 2018 by 40 %, from €0.50 to €0.70.”

Rapid expansion of renewables and grids decisive to the future role of coal

The Commission for Growth, Structural Change and Employment is discussing the future role of coal. RWE will reduce its carbon dioxide emissions from coal-based electricity production by up to 50 % by 2030 compared to 2015 and has presented a specific roadmap for this. The speed of the coal phase-out in Germany will depend on the rapid expansion of renewable energy and grids, because every kilowatt hour of renewable electricity will replace a kilowatt hour of conventional electricity in the future. Therefore, the symbolic determination of an end date hardly does justice to the complexity of the task. Moreover, further market intervention leading to increasing electricity prices must not curtail the competitiveness of German industry and in addition the consequences for the employees must be kept in mind. The Commission has the chance to place the transformation of the energy system on a realistic foundation, while establishing reliable framework conditions for companies.

From now on, the financial investment innogy will no longer be presented as a fully consolidated company in the consolidated financial statements. The segment is now called ‘ innogy – continuing operations’. It only includes those parts of the company that are due to remain within the RWE Group over the long term. This applies to the renewables business, gas storage and the stake in Austria-based Kelag. The other parts of innogy, which will be transferred to E.ON, are classified as ‘discontinued operations’ until their date of sale. The current financial statements do not include E.ON’s renewable assets or the dividend which will be paid to RWE through E.ON’s future shareholding. The minority interests in the Gundremmingen and Emsland nuclear power plants, which RWE will acquire from E.ON, have not been presented either.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements reflect management’s current assessments, expectations and assumptions and are based on the information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements provide no assurance that future events or developments will occur and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. As a result of various factors, actual future events and developments may differ materially from the expectations and assumptions expressed herein. In particular, these factors include changes in the general economic environment and the competitive situation. Above and beyond this, developments on the financial markets, fluctuations in exchange rates, changes to national and international law, especially with regard to tax regulations, and other factors can influence the future results and performance of the Company. Neither the Company nor any of its associated companies undertake to update the statements contained in this press release.

]]>news,RWEAG,financeTue, 14 Aug 2018 07:00:08 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rwe-ae35-detail-001.jpg?10000RWE off to a good start in 2018 – dividend outlook of €0.70 confirmedhttp://news.rwe.com/2018-q1-en/
http://news.rwe.com/2018-q1-en/RWE AGRWE has posted a good performance for early 2018 and still expects that it will achieve its operational goals for the year as a whole. For the period from January to March, the RWE Group recorded adjusted EBITDA (adjusted earnings before interest, tax and depreciation and amortisation) of €1.9 billion, compared to €2.1 billion in the same prior-year period. Adjusted net income amounted to €517 million versus €689 million in Q1 2017.

As anticipated, the results in conventional power generation declined, due to lower margins and wholesale prices compared to last year. In 2018, RWE achieved an average price of €28 per megawatt hour for generation from lignite and nuclear power, down from €31 per megawatt hour in 2017. From today’s perspective, this means that we have reached the trough.

Thanks to the improving medium-term outlook, RWE confirms its plan to increase the ordinary dividend for fiscal 2018 to €0.70.

Lignite & Nuclear: falling volumes and lower margins

In the first three months of 2018, the adjusted EBITDA of the Lignite & Nuclear Division fell to €180 million (previous year: €213 million), mainly due to lower wholesale prices of electricity compared to the previous year. Another factor was the shut-down of Unit B at the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant as of 31 December 2017. The two 300-MW lignite-fired units at Frimmersdorf, which were transferred to stand-by operation, are also no longer available for regular electricity generation. Measures to improve efficiency had a positive effect on the results.

European Power: operating results comparable to last year

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €159 million (previous year: €167 million). In 2018, there was no effect from one-off items which had improved the results in 2017, such as capital gains from sales of properties. Margins for gas and hard coal-fired power stations were also somewhat lower than in the previous year. However, the payments for participation in the UK capacity market had a positive impact. The ongoing efficiency-enhancement programme also reinforces profitability.

Supply & Trading: weak result for the first quarter

With adjusted EBITDA of –€24 million, the performance of the Supply & Trading Division was weaker, compared to the €146 million earned in the very strong first quarter last year. These kinds of fluctuations are not unusual in this volatile business. RWE still expects to achieve a result between €100 million and €300 million for 2018.

innogy: small decline compared to previous year

Our financial investment innogy SE recorded a 2% decline in adjusted EBITDA compared to 2017. While the contributions of Renewables and Grid & Infrastructure improved, a decline in earnings was registered in the Retail Division. innogy released details on its earnings situation in its Q1 report published on 14 May.

Modest rise in net debt compared to 2017

As of 30 March 2018, the net debt of the RWE Group amounted to €20.9 billion, reflecting an increase of €0.7 billion compared to the end of 2017. Higher pension provisions were the main reason for this.

Figures for ‘RWE stand-alone’: no change to the outlook

Along with the fully-consolidated figures from financial reporting, since 2017 RWE has also published additional indicators for ‘RWE stand-alone’. This covers the core divisions Lignite & Nuclear, European Power and Supply & Trading, plus the innogy dividend.

For ‘RWE stand-alone’, adjusted EBITDA reached €299 million (previous year: €514 million) and adjusted net income was €78 million (€203 million). This figure does not yet include the innogy dividend of €683 million for 2017. As of 30 March 2018, net debt directly allocable to RWE amounted to €3.5 billion and thus fell significantly, dropping by €1 billion compared to 31 December 2017, mainly as a result of improved cash flow. In contrast to our forecast in March, RWE now believes that net debt for ‘RWE stand-alone’ will be moderately lower than last year.

For adjusted EBITDA, a range of €1.4 billion to €1.7 billion was forecast for ‘RWE stand-alone’ in 2018 (previous year: €2.1 billion), and a range of €0.5 billion to €0.8 billion was projected for adjusted net income (previous year: €1.0 billion). No changes were made to this outlook.

Transaction with E.ON progressing as planned

In mid-March, RWE and E.ON agreed on a comprehensive exchange of assets. With this transaction, RWE will focus on electricity generation and trading in the future. RWE will become No. 3 in renewables in Europe. The transaction with E.ON is moving along on schedule. On 27 April, E.ON submitted the voluntary public offer to minority shareholders of innogy SE. The formally required reasoned statement by the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of innogy SE was published last week. The process of obtaining the necessary anti-trust approvals has commenced as planned, with preliminary discussions with the competent authorities.

Additional information on RWE’s business performance can be found here:

This press release contains forward-looking statements.These statements reflect the current views, expectations and assumptions of the management, and are based on information currently available to the management. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee the occurrence of future results and developments and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Therefore, actual future results and developments may deviate materially from the expectations and assumptions expressed in this document due to various factors. These factors primarily include changes in the general economic and competitive environment. Furthermore, developments on financial markets and changes in currency exchange rates as well as changes in national and international laws, in particular in respect of fiscal regulation, and other factors influence the company’s future results and developments. Neither the company nor any of its affiliates undertakes to update the statements contained in this notification.

]]>news,RWEAG,financeTue, 15 May 2018 07:00:03 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_zentralerweessen1218-logo.jpg?10000RWE shareholders receive ordinary and special dividend totalling €1.50http://news.rwe.com/rwe-shareholders-receive-ordinary-and-special-dividend-totalling-150/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-shareholders-receive-ordinary-and-special-dividend-totalling-150/RWE AGAt the Annual General Meeting of RWE AG held today, the shareholders voted in favour of the dividend proposed by the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board by a significant majority. Therefore, RWE will pay a dividend of €1.50 per share for fiscal 2017. The dividend is made up of an ordinary dividend of €0.50 per share and a one-time special dividend of €1.00 per share, which will be paid due to the refund of the nuclear fuel tax that was found to be unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court and declared by the Court to be null and void retroactively. In so doing, RWE is giving the shareholders approximately one-third of the refund.

In addition, under Item 7 on the Agenda, the Annual General Meeting of RWE AG passed a resolution to authorise share buybacks; the former authorisation was valid until the middle of April 2019. This puts RWE in the position to issue shares as a currency for acquisitions and within the scope of employee stock ownership plans. Furthermore, under Item 8 on the Agenda, the shareholders approved the renewal of authorised capital. The resolutions in the other items on the Agenda such as the approval of the acts of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board as well as the election of the independent auditors were also passed by a significant majority vote.

A total of 317,861,324 common shares, corresponding to 55.21% of the capital stock bearing voting rights, were represented at the Annual General Meeting (last year: 52.93%). Moreover, 2,984,930 preferred shares were represented.

An overview of the results of the votes on all agenda items can be found on the internet at www.rwe.com/agm

RWE plans a dividend of €1.50, including a special dividend of €1, for 2017, with the 2018 ordinary dividend to rise to €0.70

Fiscal 2017 was a good year for RWE, thanks to better-than-expected results in the European Power division, a robust earnings contribution from Energy Trading and good progress with the ongoing efficiency-enhancement programme. Consequently, the company’s key earnings figures were better than last year. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) amounted to €5.8 billion, up from €5.4 billion in 2016. At €1.9 billion, net income was substantially higher than last year, when a net loss of €5.7 billion was reported due to impairments. Adjusted net income came in at €1.2 billion, well higher than last year’s result of €0.8 billion.

For 2018, RWE projects adjusted EBITDA in a range of €4.9 billion to €5.2 billion, and adjusted net income between €700 million and €1.0 billion. This represents a modest decline, but comes as no surprise since 2018 will merely reflect the full impact of the very low levels of electricity prices seen in past years. As Dr. Rolf Martin Schmitz, CEO of RWE AG, explained: “We’re prepared for this. We planned to cut our cost base by €300 million annually between 2016 and 2019 and we have already achieved more than half of this. Furthermore, we can observe a slight improvement in wholesale electricity prices. On the whole, we are optimistic about our future prospects.”

For fiscal 2017, the Executive and Supervisory Boards of RWE AG will propose to the Annual General Meeting on 26 April the payment of a dividend of €1.50 for common and preferred shares. This includes a special dividend of €1.00. For 2018, the goal is to increase the ordinary dividend to €0.70.

Security of supply remains the key focus in 2018

RWE continues to focus on its core business, security of supply, with operational excellence and strict cost discipline as the basis for the company’s success going forward. In particular, the portfolio of gas-fired power plants will be further developed. One specific area of focus in this field will be the cooperation with industrial customers. In terms of generation capacity, gas is already RWE’s main source of energy, with a share of around 40%, making the company one of the leading competitors in Europe. Additional growth is targeted in energy trading, in particular in the LNG business. In the interests of promoting new solutions to ensure security of supply over the long term, the company has a pipeline of around 50 larger and smaller projects which are being pursued independently or with partners. They range from new storage facilities for electricity and the expansion of customer services to the use of biomass fuels from agricultural waste products.

Overview of segment results

In Lignite & Nuclear, adjusted EBITDA declined as expected, falling to €671 million (previous year: €1,079 million), due to lower realised wholesale electricity prices compared to the previous year. This decline was partially offset by the fact that we no longer had to pay a nuclear fuel tax and the ongoing efficiency-enhancement programme.

The adjusted EBITDA of the European Power division amounted to €463 million (previous year: €377 million). At the start of 2017 we were still expecting a decline in this division. The increase of around 23% resulted from the above-average earnings of the commercial optimisation of our power plant fleet, improvements in efficiency and an extraordinary book gain on the sale of our former power plant site Littlebrook.

The adjusted EBITDA of the Supply & Trading division rose to €271 million (previous year:-€139 million), a strong rebound compared to 2016 and well above the expected average level of around €200 million.

Our financial investment, innogy, recorded an increase of 3% in its adjusted EBITDA. Details on its earnings were published on 12 March.

As of 31 December 2017, the net debt of the RWE Group amounted to €20.2 billion, down€2.5 billion on the figure recorded by the end of 2016. This was mainly due to the good earnings development, the refund of the nuclear fuel tax and lower pension obligations.

‘RWE stand-alone’ indicators

In addition to its fully consolidated financial reporting, since 2017 RWE has also publishes additional indicators for ‘RWE stand-alone’. This covers the core business areas Lignite & Nuclear, European Power and Supply & Trading, along with the innogy dividend. These earnings indicators show the origin of the available free cash flows of funds, which form the basis for the dividend. The adjusted EBITDA of ‘RWE stand-alone’ amounted to €2.1 billion (previous year: €1.9 billion), with adjusted net income of €973 million (previous year: -€20 million). Net debt directly attributable to RWE declined by €2.3 billion to €4.5 billion as of 31 December 2017.

This press release contains forward-looking statements.The statements reflect the current assessments, expectations and assumptions of the management and are based on the information available to the management at the current time. Forward-looking statements provide no assurance that future events or developments will occur and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. As a result of various factors, actual future events and developments may differ materially from the expectations and assumptions expressed in this publication. In particular, these factors include changes in the general economic environment and the competitive situation. Above and beyond this, developments on the financial markets, fluctuations in exchange rates, changes to national and international law, especially with regard to tax regulations, and other factors can influence the future results and performance of the Company. Neither the Company nor any of its associated companies undertake to update the statements contained in this press release.

About RWE AG

With its two operating business areas of conventional electricity generation and energy trading, RWE AG, headquartered in Essen, is indispensable for the functioning of the energy system and security of supply in Europe. RWE’s third main pillar is its majority stake in innogy SE, one of the leading energy companies in Continental Europe. With its three divisions, Renewables, Grid & Infrastructure and Retail, innogy is addressing the needs of the modern energy world. In total, almost 60,000 employees of the RWE Group are active at all levels of the energy value chain.

]]>news,RWEAG,FinanceTue, 13 Mar 2018 07:01:01 +0100https://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1866.png?10000Ad-hoc-disclosure according to Art. 17 MARhttp://news.rwe.com/ad-hoc-disclosure-according-to-art-17-mar/
http://news.rwe.com/ad-hoc-disclosure-according-to-art-17-mar/RWE and E.ON reach agreement in principle on sale of 76.8 per cent innogy stake via a wide-ranging exchange of business activitiesRWE and E.ON reached an agreement in principle according to which RWE shall sell it’s 76.8 per cent stake in innogy SE to E.ON. Binding agreements have not yet been concluded. The sale will be performed via a wide-ranging exchange of business activities and participations.

In exchange for it’s 76.8 per cent stake in innogy RWE would receive a 16.67 per cent participation in E.ON. The shares would be issued by E.ON by way of a 20 per cent capital increase against contribution in kind under the existing authorizations. In addition, RWE would – after E.ON has gained control over innogy – get substantially all of E.ONs renewables business including the economic benefits as of 1.1.2018.

The same would apply to the entire innogy renewables business and innogy‘s gas storage business as well as innogy’s participation in the Austrian utility Kelag. Further, RWE would receive the minority interests currently held by E.ON’s subsidiary PreussenElektra in the RWE-operated nuclear power plants Gundremmingen and Emsland. Finally, the agreement would provide for a EUR 1.5 billion cash payment from RWE to E.ON.

In this transaction, RWE’s 76,8 per cent stake in innogy would be valued with EUR 40.00 per share including the expected dividends of EUR 3.24 per share in total for the fiscal years 2017 (to be paid in 2018) and 2018 (to be paid in 2019), which RWE would still receive until the expected closing of the transaction.

E.ON would make a voluntary public takeover offer in cash to the minority shareholders of innogy. As per today, the offer would sum up to a total value of EUR 40.00 per share. The total value would consist of an offer price per share amounting to EUR 36.76 plus expected dividends per share for of the fiscal years 2017 and 2018 amounting to EUR 3.24 in total, which innogy shareholders would still receive. In case the takeover offer would be completed before innogy’s annual general meeting which resolves on the dividend for fiscal 2018, E.ON’s offer would be increased accordingly in order to meet the total value. RWE would not participate in this offer.

Following completion of the transaction, RWE would combine ownership of the renewables businesses of E.ON and innogy to create a leading European utility for renewables and security of supply with a broadly diversified portfolio of renewable and conventional generation assets, which would be linked via our existing trading business.

Boards of both companies still need to approve the transaction. For the closing of the transaction additional conditions would need to be fulfilled. In particular, antitrust and regulatory approvals would be necessary.

Disclosed by Dr. Ulrich Rust, General Counsel

]]>news,RWEAG,FinanceSun, 11 Mar 2018 12:53:41 +0100https://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1866.png?10000RWE ends Rating by S&Phttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-ends-rating-by-sp/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-ends-rating-by-sp/RWE is today ending its rating by the agency Standard & Poor´s. Given the low level of activity on the capital market, a triple rating is no longer required.

Following its IPO in the autumn of 2016, innogy assumed a large portion of the Group’s financial liabilities. In addition, around 1.8 billion euros of the remaining bonds were redeemed last year. Therefore, RWE finds that the ratings by Moody´s (Baa3, stable outlook) and Fitch (BBB, stable outlook) are sufficient.

]]>news,Finance,RWEAGThu, 15 Feb 2018 11:33:29 +0100https://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1866.png?10000RWE remains right on track after the first three quarters of fiscal 2017http://news.rwe.com/2017-q3-en/
http://news.rwe.com/2017-q3-en/Earnings clearly up year on year: adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income rise by €354 million and €649 million, respectively

RWE remains right on track after the first nine months of fiscal 2017. From January to September, the Group posted adjusted EBITDA (adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of €4.2 billion, compared to €3.8 billion in the same period in 2016.

Net income amounted to €2.2 billion after €11 million in last year's corresponding period. This was due to the good operating business performance, a substantially improved financial result and the nuclear fuel tax refund.

The Group confirms its outlook: management continues to anticipate adjusted EBITDA of€5.4 billion to €5.7 billion and adjusted net income of €1.0 billion to €1.3 billion. The company expects to reach the upper end of the aforementioned ranges.

Lignite& Nuclear: earnings decline due to drop in electricity prices

In the first three quarters of 2017, adjusted EBITDA in the Lignite & Nuclear segment decreased to €551 million (previous year: €634 million). This was primarily due to the year-on-year decline in realised wholesale electricity prices. The abolition of the nuclear fuel tax as well as the current efficiency-enhancement programme and lower cost of restructuring measures partially offset this.

European Power: better year on year in operating terms

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €324 million (previous year: €413 million). The decline was mainly due to exceptional items recorded in 2016 that did not recur this year. In operating terms, the segment fared better than in the same period last year. Hard coal-fired power stations remain under pressure. By contrast, the margins and dispatch times of gas-fired power plants exceeded expectations. The ongoing efficiency-enhancing programme also had a positive impact on this segment. In addition, RWE posted a gain of a medium double-digit million euro amount from the sale of a power plant site in the United Kingdom.

Supply & Trading: revenue returns to normal level

Adjusted EBITDA in the Supply & Trading segment totalled €201 million (previous year:-€97 million). The business trend was thus back in line with expectations. We expect our energy trading operations to generate an average of about €200 million in annual revenues over the medium term.

innogy: earnings slightly improved

innogy, our financial investment, improved its adjusted EBITDA by 5%. innogy anticipates that it will close the year as a whole moderately up on 2016. Details of the earnings situation were published as part of the reporting on the third quarter on 13 November.

Net debt reduced by €3.3 billion

As of 30 September 2017, the RWE Group had €19.5 billion in net debt, €3.3 billion less than at the end of 2016. This was predominantly due to the positive development of earnings, the nuclear fuel tax refund and lower pension obligations. As before, RWE expects net debt at the end of 2017 to be below the €22.7 billion recorded in 2016.

In 2017, RWE began supplementing its fully consolidated reporting with additional key figures for 'RWE stand-alone'. This encompasses the Lignite & Nuclear, European Power andSupply & Trading divisions as well as innogy's dividend and reveals the sources of available free cash flow that forms the basis for the dividend.

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income of 'RWE stand-alone' amounted to €1.7 billion and €930 million, respectively. These figures include innogy's dividend for 2016. Net debt directly allocable to RWE more than halved, totalling €3.4 billion as of 30 September 2017.

In light of the current political debate, RWE CFO Markus Krebber is calling for the equitable pursuit of the goals of climate protection, competitiveness and security of supply. "Germany is among the countries with the highest level of industrial value added in the world. The basis for this is a secure and affordable supply of energy. This is indispensable to the acceptance of the energy transition."

]]>Finance,News,RWEAGTue, 14 Nov 2017 07:00:32 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000Tender phase for hybrid buyback successfully completedhttp://news.rwe.com/tender-phase-for-hybrid-buyback-successfully-completed/
http://news.rwe.com/tender-phase-for-hybrid-buyback-successfully-completed/RWE's offer to buy back hybrid bonds outstanding within the scope of a tender offer was well received and accepted by a large number of investors. A total of 585 million euros in bonds will be bought back as of 10 October 2017. The bonds to be bought back were selected primarily based on yield considerations. As a result, RWE expects interest payments to be reduced in subsequent years.

On 26 September, RWE had announced that it would buy back a portion of its hybrid bonds outstanding within the scope of a tender offer. The offer related to those four RWE hybrid bonds, which cannot be cancelled until after 2017.

]]>Finance,News,RWEAGFri, 06 Oct 2017 11:34:59 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE offers to buy back up to 550 million euros in hybrid bondshttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-offers-to-buy-back-up-to-550-million-euros-in-hybrid-bonds/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-offers-to-buy-back-up-to-550-million-euros-in-hybrid-bonds/RWE announced today that it will buy back a portion of its outstanding hybrid bonds as part of a tender offer. The offer relates to four RWE hybrid bonds which cannot be cancelled until after 2017.

The buyback is targeting 550 million euros of the total nominal amount outstanding. The further conditions of the buyback have been communicated to the creditors of the affected hybrid bonds in a tender offer memorandum subject to certain offer and distribution restrictions.

"The good business performance in the year underway and the cash flows from the refund of the nuclear fuel tax payments put us in a position to redeem further debt capital. In addition, the planned bond buybacks will reduce RWE's interest burden. In so doing, as announced, we will strengthen our financial position even further," says Dr. Markus Krebber, Chief Financial Officer of RWE AG.

On 7 June 2017, the German Constitutional Court ruled that the nuclear fuel tax levied until the end of 2016 was unconstitutional, thus declaring it null and void retroactively. The refund received by RWE amounted to approximately 1.7 billion euros. RWE announced on 23 June that the company intended to propose to the 2018 Annual General Meeting a one-off special dividend of 1 euro per share in addition to the planned ordinary dividend of 50 euro cents, which would be paid to the shareholders, and to use the remaining funds to increase its financial strength.

In view of its solid financial position and improved equity base following the IPO of innogy, RWE announced in March that it would reduce the volume of hybrid bonds outstanding to 50% and not issue any new hybrid bonds for refinancing purposes in 2017. RWE has already redeemed two hybrid bonds with a combined volume of 400 million Swiss francs so far. A further redemption will be effected on 12 October and relates to the 1 billion US dollar bond.

]]>Finance,News,RWEAGTue, 26 Sep 2017 10:42:45 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE cancels USD 1 billion hybrid bond on earliest possible datehttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-cancels-usd-1-billion-hybrid-bond-on-earliest-possible-date/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-cancels-usd-1-billion-hybrid-bond-on-earliest-possible-date/RWE is about to cancel a junior hybrid bond that was issued in 2012 on the earliest cancellation date. The cancellation relates to a 1 billion US dollar hybrid bond (ISIN XS0767140022) bearing a 7.00% coupon. The sum to be redeemed is the nominal amount. RWE will exercise its cancellation right with effect from 12 October 2017, 5 years after the issuance of the bond.

"We have strengthened our financial base. This is largely thanks to the successful strategic realignment of RWE and the positive business trend displayed by both conventional electricity generation and energy trading. Therefore, as announced, we are reducing the volume of our hybrid bonds," says Dr Markus Krebber, Chief Financial Officer of RWE AG.

RWE has already redeemed two hybrid bonds with a combined volume of 400 million Swiss francs this year. RWE will not take out any new hybrid bonds for the purpose of refinancing in place of the bond it is about to cancel, either.

]]>Finance,News,RWEAGTue, 29 Aug 2017 10:29:31 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE confirms forecast for 2017 after good performance in the first six monthshttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-confirms-forecast-for-2017-after-good/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-confirms-forecast-for-2017-after-good/

Adjusted EBITDA up 7% and adjusted net income rises 35% compared to same prior-year period

Forecast confirmed in the upper end of the range

Net debt of the RWE Group declines by €1.2 billion

RWE is satisfied with its performance in the first six months of fiscal 2017. From January to June, the Group posted adjusted EBITDA (adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortisation) of €3.2 billion, compared to €3.0 billion in the same period last year. All of the segments made positive contributions to earnings.

Net income amounted to €2.7 billion, up from €457 million in the first half of 2016. Along with the good business performance, this improvement was driven by a significantly better financial result and the nuclear fuel tax refund. In early June, the German Constitutional Court ruled that the law on the nuclear fuel tax was unconstitutional and retroactively void.

Adjusted net income – which does not include the nuclear fuel tax refund – totalled €809 million. This represents an improvement of 35%. For 2017 as a whole, RWE continues to expect adjusted EBITDA of between €5.4 billion and €5.7 billion, and adjusted net income of between €1.0 billion and €1.3 billion. According to current planning, the company expects to close the year underway at the upper end of these forecast ranges.

“We used the first half of this year to further develop our company, in line with our strategy,” explained Rolf Martin Schmitz, Chief Executive Officer of RWE AG. “These efforts include forward-looking projects intended to successfully position the company to achieve our main aim of ensuring security of supply.” For instance, RWE has taken initial planning steps at the Tilbury power station site in the UK, with an eye to creating options for the construction of gas-fired power plants and a battery storage facility. In the Netherlands, the company is retrofitting power stations for the use of biomass. This state-subsidised area of business offers long-term security for both investments and returns. Another innovative solution is the marketing of decentralised generation capacities from emergency generators by Supply & Trading.

In parallel, optimisation of the power plant portfolio ensures a very high degree of efficiency in power generation and flexibility of the power stations. This flexibility is crucially important to be able to offer security of supply, because with a close relationship between trading and power stations, the required generation capacities can be provided exactly when they are needed, when the highest revenues can be generated, either on the market or for grid services.

Lignite & Nuclear Division: decline in earnings anticipated

During the first half of 2017, adjusted EBITDA of the Lignite & Nuclear Segment fell to €401 million. The main reason for this was lower wholesale prices of electricity compared to the previous year. For 2017 as a whole, RWE continues to anticipate that the division’s earnings will be much lower than in the previous year.

European Power Division: better than planned in operating terms

Adjusted EBITDA in the European Power Segment totalled €222 million, compared to €316 million in the first six months of last year. The decline of almost €100 million was due exclusively to the lack of special items, which amounted to roughly €132 million last year. In operating terms, earnings actually improved year on year. The division is performing better than planned. The margins and dispatch of gas-fired power stations are higher than expected. Hard coal-fired power stations remain under pressure. However, RWE is countering this by pressing ahead with efficiency enhancement measures. The commercial optimisation of power plant dispatch also made a strong contribution to the division’s earnings. RWE now anticipates a significantly improved result from this segment in 2017, in particular as one-off revenue from the sale of a power station site in the United Kingdom will also be recognised in the second half of the year. A decline in this division’s earnings was originally forecast.

Supply & Trading Division: back to positive performance

Adjusted EBITDA in the Supply & Trading Segment amounted to €131 million, whereas earnings in the first half of 2016 had been in negative territory. Consequently, business performance in this segment is now back in line with expectations. Averaged over the medium term, Supply & Trading is expected to have sustained earnings potential in the order of roughly €200 million annually.

innogy: moderate increase

The financial investment innogy boosted its adjusted EBITDA by 2%. For 2017 as a whole, innogy expects to close moderately above last year. Details on innogy’s earnings were released on 11 August in the company’s half-year report.

Net debt expected to decline

As of 30 June 2017, the net debt of the RWE Group amounted to €21.5 billion, down €1.2 billion on the figure recorded at the end of 2016. This was mainly due to the nuclear fuel tax refund and lower pension obligations. Consequently, RWE now projects that as of end-2017, net debt will be lower than last year’s figure of €22.7 billion.

‘RWE stand alone’ indicators underline positive development

In addition to the fully consolidated financial reporting, in 2017 RWE also started publishing additional indicators for ‘RWE stand alone’, which cover the core business areas Lignite & Nuclear, European Power and Supply & Trading, along with the innogy dividend. This approach provides transparency as to how the company generates free cash flow, which forms the basis for the dividend. For ‘RWE stand alone’, adjusted EBITDA amounted to €1.4 billion and adjusted net income stood at €883 million. These figures already include innogy’s dividend payment for 2016. As of 30 June 2017, net debt directly attributable to RWE totalled €4.3 billion. Compared to the end of 2016, this represents a decline of €2.6 billion.

]]>Finance,news,RWEAGMon, 14 Aug 2017 07:00:03 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE plans one-off special dividend of 1 euro per sharehttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-plans-one-off-special-dividend-of-1-euro-per-share/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-plans-one-off-special-dividend-of-1-euro-per-share/The Executive Board of RWE AG plans to pay its shareholders a one-off special dividend of 1 euro per share in connection with the reimbursement of the nuclear fuel tax. The backdrop to these deliberations, which were discussed with the Supervisory Board today, was the notification by the German Constitutional Court of 7 June stating that the fuel tax was not compliant with the provisions of German constitutional law and declared null and void retroactively. The reimbursement of the tax amounts to approximately €1.7 billion for RWE. Rolf Martin Schmitz, CEO RWE AG, emphasises, “We are aware that we asked a lot of our shareholders by suspending the dividend on common shares in the last two years. We feel it is both fair and appropriate to distribute part of the tax refund among our shareholders.”

The payment of the one-off special dividend is to be proposed to the Annual General Meeting on 26 April 2018 in connection with the adoption of the financial statements for fiscal 2017. It is envisaged to pay the special dividend on top of the envisaged dividend for fiscal 2017 of 50 euro cents. Based on the 614.7 million RWE shares including 39 million preferred shares, the planned special dividend payment will amount to approximately 615 million euros. “We intend to use the predominant part of the tax reimbursement to improve our company’s financial strength,” says RWE CFO Markus Krebber.

The tax refund will not affect the company’s operating earnings forecast, as it will be recognised in the non-operating result. The tax had been levied since 2011 and expired on 31 December 2016.

]]>News,Finance,RWEAGThu, 22 Jun 2017 13:37:00 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE redeems CHF 150 million hybrid bond as of the first cancellation datehttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-redeems-chf-150-million-hybrid-bond-as-of-the-first-cancellation-date/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-redeems-chf-150-million-hybrid-bond-as-of-the-first-cancellation-date/RWE will redeem a subordinated hybrid bond that was issued in July 2012 as of the first cancellation date. The cancellation relates to a CHF 150 million hybrid bond (ISIN: CH0185843049) bearing a 5.00% coupon. The redemption will be in the nominal amount. RWE will exercise its cancellation right with effect from 26 July 2017, 5 years after the issuance of the bond.

“We are making inroads in optimising our capital structure and, as announced in March, we are reducing the volume of our hybrid bonds outstanding,” says Dr Markus Krebber, CFO of RWE AG.

Before this cancellation, the most recent redemption by RWE related to a CHF 250 million hybrid bond in April 2017. RWE will again not issue any new hybrid bonds in place of the latest cancelled bond. With the redemption, the company is taking advantage of its new headroom resulting from the IPO of innogy and reducing its interest burden.

Adjusted EBITDA of €2.1 billion, net income of €946 million, adjusted net income of €689 million

Forecast confirmed: last year’s results to be exceeded

Additional indicators for ‘RWE stand alone’ increase transparency

During the first three months of 2017, the RWE Group recorded adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of €2.1 billion and net income of €946 million. As expected, due to a drop in electricity generation revenue, EBITDA was down 6%, whereas net income was up 10%. The significantly improved financial result came to bear here in particular. Net income adjusted for special items totalled €689 million. All of the segments made positive contributions to earnings.

RWE continues to expect an improvement in earnings over 2016 in the current fiscal year. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to total between €5.4 billion and €5.7 billion (after €5.4 billion in 2016). Adjusted net income is anticipated to range between €1.0 billion and €1.3 billion (after €0.8 billion in 2016).

The financial reporting of the RWE Group was adapted to a new segment structure at the start of the year, in order to provide even more transparency for the capital market. The former ‘Conventional Power Generation’ segment was divided into the ‘Lignite & Nuclear’ and ‘European Power’ segments. To ensure the comparability of the figures, the data for 2016 were restated in the new structure. The ‘Trading/Gas Midstream’ segment is now called ‘Supply & Trading’, but this change affects the name only.

Lignite & Nuclear segment suffers from lower electricity prices

During the first quarter, the adjusted EBITDA of the Lignite & Nuclear segment fell to €213 million. The main reason for this was lower wholesale prices of electricity compared to the same period last year. This decline was partially offset by positive effects of the ongoing efficiency-enhancement programme. For 2017 as a whole, RWE forecasts that adjusted EBITDA of this segment will be much lower than last year.

European Power segment posts a rise in earnings for the first quarter

Despite falling margins, adjusted EBITDA rose to €167 million. Along with measures to improve efficiency, a stronger contribution made by the commercial optimisation of power plant utilisation had a positive effect. For fiscal 2017, RWE nevertheless expects that EBITDA will fall short of last year’s level, as it will not be possible for the aforementioned measures to fully compensate for the decline in margins of power generation from gas and hard coal.

Supply & Trading segment makes large contribution to earnings

Adjusted EBITDA in the Supply & Trading Division amounted to €146 million. Performance in the first quarter of 2016 was extremely robust, and therefore the slight decline did not come as a surprise. Moreover, in Q1 2016 we also recorded a profit on the sale of the hard coal-fired Lynemouth power plant in the UK. For the year as a whole, RWE projects a significant improvement in full-year earnings. Averaged over the medium term, energy trading is expected to unleash sustainable earnings potential in the order of about €200 million p.a.

innogy posts slight improvement

The financial investment innogy increased adjusted EBITDA to €1.6 billion. innogy expects to close the year moderately up on last year, in part due to declining expenses for the operation and maintenance of the distribution networks. innogy released details on its earnings in its interim statement published on 12 May.

Net income rises by 10%

Due largely to the improvements in the financial and non-operating results, net income rose to €946 million, compared to €860 million in the same period last year.

Adjusted net income slips

Adjusted net income amounted to €689 million after €838 million in the first quarter of last year. In contrast to net income, it excludes one-off effects and other material special items.

Net debt on a stable path

As of 31 March 2017, net debt of the RWE Group amounted to €23.7 billion, up €1.0 billion on the figure recorded by the end of 2016. This mirrored the negative free cash flow, which was mainly characterised by seasonal effects. First-quarter electricity and gas sales are usually above average for weather related reasons. By contrast, payments from customers are spread evenly over the year. This causes receivables to rise significantly in the retail business and commensurately lower operating cash flows. Furthermore, a large portion of the expenditure on CO2 emission allowances occurs in the first quarter. For the year as a whole, RWE anticipates that net debt will be of the order of last year’s figure at the end of 2017.

Supplementing the fully consolidated financial reporting, starting in 2017 RWE is also publishing additional indicators for ‘RWE stand alone’. This covers the core business areas Lignite & Nuclear, European Power and Supply & Trading as well as innogy’s dividend. Since its strategic restructuring, RWE has used these indicators to manage its operating business. This shows how the company generates the available free cash flow, which forms the basis for the dividend.

For ‘RWE stand alone’, adjusted EBITDA amounted to €514 million and adjusted net income totalled €203 million. This does not include innogy’s dividend payment, as RWE receives it in the second quarter. As of 31 March 2017, net debt of ‘RWE stand alone’ amounted to €7.0 billion, essentially unchanged from the end of 2016. This calculation already takes into account the payment of €6.8 billion to the state nuclear energy fund as of 1 July 2017.

Clear focus on security of supply

“The good start to the year encourages us to continue implementing our strategy with resolve,” Markus Krebber concluded. “We are focussing on our core business, security of supply. This entails the further optimisation of the power generation operations, exploiting potential in the core business areas, and actively pursuing new solutions to ensure security of supply.”

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current views, expectations and assumptions of the management and are based on information currently available to the management. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee the occurrence of future results and developments and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual future results and developments may deviate materially from the expectations and assumptions expressed in this document due to various factors. These factors primarily include changes in the general economic and competitive environment. Furthermore, developments on financial markets and changes in currency exchange rates as well as changes in national and international laws, in particular in respect of fiscal regulation, and other factors influence the company's future results and developments. Neither the company nor any of its affiliates undertakes to update the statements contained in this press release.

Mag. Dr. h.c. Monika Kircher and Ute Gerbaulet elected as new Supervisory Board members of RWE AG

Acts of the Executive and Supervisory Boards approved by a large majority

RWE AG's Annual General Meeting today elected the following shareholder representatives to the Supervisory Board under Item 8 of the agenda by way of individual votes (voting results shown in brackets as a percentage of the votes cast):

The term of office of the elected Supervisory Board members ends with the close of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) that adopts a resolution on the approval of the acts of the Supervisory Board members for the 2020 fiscal year.

Furthermore, the shareholders present by a large majority passed a resolution on the approval of the acts of the Executive and Supervisory Boards and approved the new Executive Board remuneration system (“say on pay”); they also voted in favour of a waiver of dividend for common shareholders. Preferred shareholders shall receive 13 cents per share. At this year's AGM of RWE AG 304,729,006 common shares were represented. This corresponds to an attendance of 52.93 % of the voting share capital (previous year: 54.95%). In addition, 2,770,568 preferred shares were represented.

A breakdown of the voting results on all agenda items is available on the internet at: www.rwe.com/agm

Strategic continued development in areas linked to corebusiness: security of supply

RWE starts fiscal 2017 with a positive outlook. The company forecasts a range of €5.4 billion to €5.7 billion for adjusted EBITDA; in 2016 this figure stood at €5.4 billion. Adjusted net income of between €1.0 billion and €1.3 billion is anticipated after €0.8 billion last year. Earnings from conventional power generation will be significantly lower than last year, owing to the continuous decline in margins. However, earnings achieved by RWE Supply & Trading GmbH and innogy SE should record a significant and slight improvement over 2016, respectively.

"We have done our homework. The task at hand now is to continue to build RWE on this solid foundation. Our business model centres on security of supply,” emphasises Rolf Martin Schmitz, CEO of RWE AG.

RWE has defined three goals to this end:

RWE will continue to optimise the efficiency and flexibility of its power plant portfolio. The company will resolutely implement its lignite roadmap for reducing carbon emissions.

RWE intends to leverage potential in areas linked to its core business. For this purpose, the portfolio of flexible assets will be developed further. Moreover, the company will position itself in strategic, operating and organisational terms in order to be able to anticipate and react to important developments on the market. RWE also aims to grow organically in the energy trading business. RWE's trading team was and continues to be the pacemaker for the liquid, functioning energy market, both in Europe and elsewhere. Drawing on this experience and expertise, the company wants to be part of the strong growth of the Asian energy markets.

Ultimately, RWE will be a driver of new solutions ensuring security of supply. Therefore, the company intends to participate in the development of storage and spur innovation in this area.

2016 financials: RWE re-establishes solid financial basis

The successful IPO of innogy has put RWE back on a solid financial basis. Consequently, the equity ratio has remained almost stable, despite substantial impairments and the charges taken as a result of the reorganisation of nuclear waste disposal responsibilities in Germany. The company will have sufficient liquidity even after fully paying its contribution of €6.8 billion to the nuclear energy fund with effect from 1 July of this year. Consolidated net debt dropped by€2.8 billion to €22.7 billion. Excluding the financial investment in innogy, RWE's debt decreased to €6.9 billion. This is contrasted by shares in innogy held as assets with a current market value of over €14 billion. RWE's credit rating by all agencies remains of investment grade status.

Business developed partly better in operating terms than expected. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) amounted to €5.4 billion, adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) totalled €3.1 billion, and adjusted net income amounted to €0.8 billion. Although earnings deteriorated compared to 2015 as expected, the figures are clearly at the upper end of the target ranges that were forecast by the company in March 2016. The divisions displayed disparate development: in conventional electricity generation, the rapid implementation of efficiency-enhancing measures led to a positive operating result which was better than expected. Earnings in the trading business were negative.

These figures include the numbers posted by the fully consolidated RWE subsidiary innogy SE.

The net loss of €5.7 billion primarily resulted from the €4.3 billion impairment of the power plant portfolio and the charges caused by the contribution to the nuclear energy fund which was increased by the 35% risk premium of €1.8 billion, with the negative effects of the fair valuation of derivatives of €0.8 billion also coming to bear. RWE had published the preliminary results of fiscal 2016 on 22 February 2017.

]]>Finance,News,RWEAGTue, 14 Mar 2017 07:00:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE and innogy implement Europe's largest guarantor and creditor exchange for €11 billion in corporate bondshttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-and-innogy-implement-europes-largest-guarantor-and-creditor-exchange-for-11-billion-in-corporate-bonds/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-and-innogy-implement-europes-largest-guarantor-and-creditor-exchange-for-11-billion-in-corporate-bonds/On 7 October 2016, innogy SE celebrated its debut on the Frankfurt trading floor. Soon thereafter, the guarantor and creditor change for all RWE AG senior bonds outstanding to innogy SE was initiated and successfully completed in February 2017. With a total volume of €11 billion equivalent, this transaction, which encompassed 18 bonds of various currencies, is the largest of its type by a corporate in Europe.

The transfer was largely effected on the basis of the German Bond Act. This resulted in the act being applied to a large sized transaction outside of a restructuring situation for the first time. As a result of the successful implementation the corresponding financing between RWE and innogy has been eliminated. innogy is thus establishing itself as an autonomous player also on the bond market, emphasising the two companies' financial independence.

Following the press conference, you are cordially invited to join us for a light lunch. For organisational purposes, we kindly ask you to bring this invitation or your press card with you.

Please confirm your attendance by 7 March using the enclosed reply form. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Kira Udvari on +49 201 12-23 986 or by e-mail: kira.udvari@rwe.com.

We are going to provide a live satellite broadcast. If you would like to take advantage of this service please register by filling out the separate enclosed form.

About €6.8 billion including risk premium transferred to nuclear energy fund as of 1 July 2017

Operating result at the upper end of the forecast range

Net debt reduced considerably

Dividend proposal for 2016: Executive Board proposes suspension of payment for common shares and €0.13 cents dividend per preferred share

Dividend of €0.50 envisaged for 2017; payment to be floor for subsequent years

Changed expectations regarding the future development of wholesale electricity prices force RWE to recognise impairments of €4.3 billion, which reduce the company's non-operating result. About €3.7 billion of this sum is largely attributable to the German power plant portfolio with further impairments of assets in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Turkey.An additional extraordinary burden on earnings results from the German law on the reorganisation of the responsibility for nuclear waste disposal in Germany that was passed at the end of 2016. According to the new legislation, companies must pay their provisions for interim and final radioactive waste storage plus a 35 percent risk premium into a state fund.RWE will pay the total of about €6.8 billion for which the company is responsible as soon as 1 July 2017, in order to indemnify itself from largely politically induced disposal risks and avoid a high, disadvantageous interest burden. The risk premium of about €1.8 billion included in the payment will be considered in the 2016 consolidated financial statements through an increase in nuclear energy provisions. The increased provisions and impairment losses as well as -€0.8 billion in additional effects from the fair valuation of derivatives lead to a net income of -€5.7 billion for 2016.

Operating earnings goals achieved
At the same time, RWE reached its operating targets for 2016 despite the persistently difficult framework conditions in the energy sector. Based on pro-forma figures from the consolidated financial statements, which have not yet been audited, the company posted an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of €5.4 billion, an adjusted EBIT of €3.1 billion and adjusted net income of €0.8 billion. Although earnings deteriorated compared to 2015 as expected, the figures are clearly at the upper end of the ranges that were forecast by the company in March 2016. The accelerated implementation of efficiency-improving measures in conventional electricity generation played a key role, above all to offset the negative performance of the trading business. The figures of the fully consolidated RWE subsidiary innogy SE are included in the pro-forma figures.

Restructuring of the RWE Group with innogy IPO pays off
The restructuring of the RWE Group has paid off. In particular the successful IPO of innogy and the additional sale of shares enable the company to pay the substantial sum into the nuclear energy fund immediately. RWE also recorded a positive development in terms of net debt, which was reduced by €2.8 billion year on year to €22.7 billion.

Dividend proposal for 2016
The Executive Board of RWE AG will propose to the Annual General Meeting a suspension of the dividend for owners of common shares for fiscal 2016. The dividend proposed for holders of preferred shares is €0.13 per share, which corresponds to the preferred share of profits stipulated by the Articles of Incorporation. This is primarily due to the aforementioned financial burdens, which result from the contribution to the nuclear energy fund.Markus Krebber, CFO of RWE AG explains: “The new regulations governing nuclear waste disposal are sensible, but require a great financial effort from RWE. Although the decision did not come easily to us, against the backdrop of the forward-looking orientation of our business, we do not see any room for paying a dividend on common shares for fiscal 2016. However, through the successful reorganisation and enormous cost savings, we have set the stage for returning to paying a dividend reliably in the next and subsequent years.”

Dividend outlook for 2017 and subsequent fiscal years
The Executive Board will discuss the dividend outlook based on the expectations for 2017 with the Supervisory Board. To give shareholders a prospect for the future dividend trend, the Executive Board envisages paying a dividend of €0.50 per common and preferred share for 2017. Based on the current price of RWE common stock of €13.50 (closing quotation on 21 February 2017) this corresponds to a dividend yield of 3.7 percent. The Executive Board aims to at least maintain the level of the dividend for 2017 in subsequent years. In this context, RWE is orienting itself towards operating cash flows that are freely available on a sustainable level.RWE will present the audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2016 at a press conference on 14 March 2017.

Forward-looking statementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current views, expectations and assumptions of the management and are based on information currently available to the management. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee the occurrence of future results and developments and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual future results and developments may deviate materially from the expectations and assumptions expressed in this document due to various factors. These factors primarily include changes in the general economic and competitive environment. Furthermore, developments on financial markets and changes in currency exchange rates as well as changes in national and international laws, in particular in respect of fiscal regulation, and other factors influence the company's future results and developments. Neither the company nor any of its affiliates undertakes to update the statements contained in this press release.

]]>Finance,news,RWEAGWed, 22 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE exercises right to call hybrid bond on first call date http://news.rwe.com/rwe-exercises-right-to-call-hybrid-bond-on-first-call-date/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-exercises-right-to-call-hybrid-bond-on-first-call-date/RWE exercises its right to call a subordinated hybrid bond that the Group issued in November 2011 on its first call date. The redemption relates to the CHF 250 million hybrid bond with a coupon of 5.25 % (ISIN CH0136594352). The bond will be redeemed at 100 % of its nominal value. RWE is exercising its right to repay the bond on 4 April 2017 which is 5 years and 6 months after the bond was originally issued.

The call of the CHF 250 million hybrid bond follows the successful listing of innogy SE in October 2016. ‘We continue to see merits in hybrid bonds as a layer of capital. However, our solid financial position and increased equity base after the IPO of innogy allow us to redeem our CHF 250 million hybrid on its first call date’, said Markus Krebber, Chief Financial Officer of RWE AG.

]]>News,Finance,RWEAGTue, 14 Feb 2017 08:00:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000RWE: earnings forecast for 2016 confirmed http://news.rwe.com/rwe-earnings-forecast-for-2016-confirmed/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-earnings-forecast-for-2016-confirmed/Operating result for first quarter of 2016 up 7% year on year In the first three months of 2016, the RWE Group’s EBITDA rose 5% compared to the previous year’s period, to €2.3 billion, and its operating result was up 7% to €1.7 billion. This was partly attributable to energy trading, which made an unusually high earnings contribution: the operating result for the Trading/Gas Midstream Division increased to €166 million (previous year €7 million). Revenues from energy trading are, however, subject to major fluctuations during the year.

'Overall, we have achieved a thoroughly respectable result for the first quarter,' said Dr Bernhard Günther, Chief Financial Officer of RWE AG. 'Our three future-oriented divisions, Renewables, Grids and Retail, are developing well. We confirm our earnings forecast for 2016.'

Development in the Renewables Division was pleasing. The commissioning of the new offshore wind farms Nordsee Ost and Gwynt y Môr, in particular, had a positive effect on the result. The result for the same period in the previous year still included one-off income from the divestment of the Gwynt y Môr grid infrastructure. The result for this segment is therefore virtually unchanged compared to 2015. Günther explained: 'Net of one-off effects, the Renewables Division would have posted a much higher result than in the previous year.'

As expected, the operating result in the conventional power generation business dropped considerably, falling by 20% to €354 million. The main reason for this is that lower wholesale prices were realised for electricity generation than in 2015. This was contrasted by lower fuel purchase prices, which caused the market conditions for our gas-fired power plants to be slightly more favourable and their utilisation to improve accordingly, primarily in the UK.

The Supply Division posted an operating result of €543 million, marginally less than in 2015 (€555 million). One reason was that, in the German retail business, rises in up-front costs (network usage fees, taxes and levies) were only partly offset by price increases. In addition, the UK experienced a marked decline in residential customer numbers from the start of 2015.

In the Grids/Participations/Other Division, increased expenditure on grid infrastructure maintenance was offset by the effect of revaluing the company’s participation in German distribution system operator WestEnergie GmbH. The operating result in this division was thus up slightly year on year (€583 million compared to €575 million).

Adjusted net income slightly down year on year
Despite higher operating income, adjusted net income decreased by 2% year on year to €857 million. This was mainly due to the deterioration of the financial result, since the previous year’s figures still included high profits from the sale of securities. External revenue fell 6% to €13.7 billion.

Increase in net debt to €27.9 Billion
As at 31 March 2016, the RWE Group’s net debt amounted to €27.9 billion, which was significantly higher than at 31 December 2015 (€25.1 billion). This was primarily due to negative free cash flow. Changes in market interest rates also made it necessary to increase provisions for pensions compared to the end of 2015.

Drop in capital expenditure on power generation capacity
At €373 million, the RWE Group’s capital expenditure in the first quarter was 10% lower than the figure recorded in the equivalent period last year. A significant decline was recorded in capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment in the Conventional Power Generation Division, after substantial investments had been made in the UK gas-fired power stations Pembroke and Staythorpe last year. Capital spent in the Renewables Division was also down due to the completion of Nordsee Ost and Gwynt y Môr in the previous year. In contrast, there was an increase in capital expenditure on grid infrastructure.

Expectations unchanged for development of earnings in 2016
RWE confirms its earnings outlook for the RWE Group’s business performance this year, as published in March 2016. There is one change compared to the March outlook, relating to net debt, where it was previously anticipated that the figures would be in the order of the previous year (€25.1 billion). A moderate rise in net debt is now expected, on account of the increase in provisions for pensions due to the latest decrease in interest rates.

The Group still anticipates that EBITDA will be unchanged, at between €5.2 billion and €5.5 billion, and that its operating result will total between €2.8 billion and €3.1 billion. Adjusted net income is likely to be in the range of €0.5 billion to €0.7 billion.

At first glance, these figures appear quite conservative in light of the result for the first quarter. In the energy sector, however, the first quarter is traditionally strong, and its figures cannot be extrapolated to provide a reliable estimate for the year as a whole.

Notice

This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Especially all of the following statements: Projections of revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other financial items, statements of plans or objectives for future operations or of future competitive position, expectations of future economic performance, and statements of assumptions underlying several of the foregoing types of statements are forward-looking statements.Also words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “intend”, “may”, “will”, “expect”, “plan”, “project”, “should” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements reflect the judgment of RWE’s management based on factors currently known to it. No assurances can be given that these forward-looking statements will prove accurate and correct, or that anticipated, projected future results will be achieved. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in general economic and social environment, business, political and legal conditions, fluctuating currency exchange rates and interest rates, price and sales risks associated with a market environment in the throes of deregulation and subject to intense competition, changes in the price and availability of raw materials, risks associated with energy trading (e.g. risks of loss in the case of unexpected, extreme market price fluctuations and credit risks resulting in the event that trading partners do not meet their contractual obligations), actions by competitors, application of new or changed accounting standards or other government agency regulations, changes in, or the failure to comply with, laws or regulations, particularly those affecting the environment and water quality (e.g. introduction of a price regulation system for the use of power grid, creating a regulation agency for electricity and gas or introduction of trading in greenhouse gas emissions), changing governmental policies and regulatory actions with respect to the acquisition, disposal, depreciation and amortisation of assets and facilities, operation and construction of plant facilities, production disruption or interruption due to accidents or other unforeseen events, delays in the construction of facilities, the inability to obtain or to obtain on acceptable terms necessary regulatory approvals regarding future transactions, the inability to integrate successfully new companies within the RWE Group to realise synergies from such integration and finally potential liability for remedial actions under existing or future environmental regulations and potential liability resulting from pending or future litigation. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. RWE neither intends to nor assumes any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For additional information regarding risks, investors are referred to RWE’s latest annual report and to other most recent reports filed with Frankfurt Stock Exchange and to all additional information published on RWE’s Internet web site.

This document does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. This document and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. Any securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered, sold or otherwise transferred in the United States absent registration or pursuant to an available exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Neither the Company nor one of its shareholders intends to register any securities referred to herein in the United States. No money, securities, or other consideration is being solicited, and, if sent in response to the information contained herein, will not be accepted.

This document does not constitute an offer document or an offer of securities to the public in the U.K. to which section 85 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 of the U.K. applies and should not be considered as a recommendation that any person should subscribe for or purchase any securities as part of the Offer. This document is being communicated only to (i) persons who are outside the U.K.; (ii) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth companies, unincorporated associations and other bodies who fall within article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). Any person who is not a Relevant Person must not act or rely on this communication or any of its contents. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. This document should not be published, reproduced, distributed or otherwise made available, in whole or in part, to any other person without the prior consent of the company.

]]>News,Finance,RWEAGThu, 12 May 2016 00:00:00 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag-2.png?10000AGM elects shareholder representativeshttp://news.rwe.com/agm-elects-shareholder-representatives/
http://news.rwe.com/agm-elects-shareholder-representatives/Supervisory Board of RWE AG is constituted and elects Dr. Werner Brandt as ChairmanAt the Annual General Meeting of RWE AG held today, the following shareholder representatives were elected under Item 8 of the agenda to the Supervisory Board on the basis of individual voting (election results shown in brackets as a percentage of votes submitted in each case):

Dr. Werner Brandt, Business Consultant (93.62%)

Maria van der Hoeven, former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (96.44%)

Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Keitel, Vice President of the Federation of German Industry (93.39%)

Martina Koederitz, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of IBM Central HoldingGmbH, of IBM Deutschland GmbH and of IBM DeutschlandManagement & Business Support GmbH as well as Managing Director of IBM Munich Center GmbH (95.88%)

Monika Krebber, Deputy Chairwoman of the General Works Council of RWE International SE

Ralf Sikorski, Member of the Main Executive Board of IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie

Marion Weckes, Head of Department of Codetermination at Hans Böckler Foundation

Leonhard Zubrowski, Chairman of the Group Works Council of RWE Generation SE

The minimum share of 30% female and 30% male representation is thus achieved both on the shareholder and on the employee side.After the AGM, the new Supervisory Board of RWE AG was constituted. From among its members, Dr. Werner Brandt was elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Frank Bsirske was re-elected Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board.Dr. Erhard Schipporeit was elected Chairman of the Audit Committee.

The members of the Supervisory Board are elected for the period until the end of the General Meeting that will decide upon the approval of the acts of the Supervisory Board members for the fourth fiscal year after the beginning of the term of office; the fiscal year during which the term of office begins shall not be taken into account.

At this year’s AGM of RWE AG 316,361,381 common and 3,015,666 preferred shares were represented.This corresponds to an attendance of 54.95% (2015: 52.16%).

A breakdown of the voting results on all agenda items will be available soon on: www.rwe.com/agm

]]>News,Finance,RWEAGWed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0200https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag.png?10000Measures to further boost financial strength approved; 2015 earnings targets achievedhttp://news.rwe.com/measures-to-further-boost-financial-strength-approved-2015-earnings-targets-achieved/
http://news.rwe.com/measures-to-further-boost-financial-strength-approved-2015-earnings-targets-achieved/Net debt down almost one fifthIn fiscal 2015, the RWE Group passed a number of important milestones in terms of boosting its financial strength. Net debt was down almost one-fifth, to €25.1 billion. The main reason for this was the successful disposal of RWE Dea, which had an impact of €5.3 billion, including the interest on the sale price. Further disposals had a total debt-reducing effect of €1.4 billion. The increase in the discount rates used to calculate provisions for pensions, which reflect the recent development of market interest rates, also helped reduce debt.

Good progress was also made in implementing the current efficiency-enhancement programme: a lasting effect on the operating result of €1.6 billion was achieved by the end of 2015, which was €100 million more than the original target. The company is therefore planning new steps to increase its operating effectiveness, focusing on conventional power generation and the UK supply business, which it intends to comprehensively restructure. In total, the Group aims to achieve a positive impact of €2.5 billion on the operating result (previously €2.0 billion), which should be fully felt from 2018 (previously from 2017).

The strategic restructuring of the RWE Group, which was decided upon at the end of 2015, is also on schedule. The new subsidiary bundling renewables, grids and retail both in Germany and internationally, will begin operating on 1 April 2016. Looking back at 2015, CEO of RWE AG Peter Terium noted, “Last year we had to deal with a number of difficulties, ranging from discussions on energy policy to problems in our UK supply business and the further decline in prices for wholesale power trading. But I am proud of the efforts put in by our employees, since we have collectively kept the RWE Group on track. This has meant making a number of tough decisions. As a result, we have opened up new business opportunities. However, energy policy challenges still continue to pose a burden.”

As expected, the RWE Group was unable to match the operating result from the previous year, but nonetheless achieved its earnings targets despite unfavourable framework conditions in the energy sector. The 2% decline in EBITDA compared to the previous year, to €7.0 billion, was actually smaller than expected. This can be attributed to special items such as the full consolidation of the Slovak energy utility VSE from the end of August. Another reason for exceeding the target was one-off income realised for insurance claims for the power plant project at Hamm. Both of these items had a positive effect on EBITDA and the operating result, although the decision not to complete the construction of Block D required the company to recognise an impairment of €654 million, which was included in the operating result.

At €3.8 billion (4% below the previous year), the operating result was in line with expectations, as was adjusted net income which amounted to €1.1 billion (12% down on the previous year).

Result of Renewables Division doubles

The Renewables Division posted a considerable gain in its operating result. It more than doubled compared to 2014, rising from €186 million to €493 million. This was largely due to the commissioning of new wind farms with a total generating capacity of some 1,000 megawatts (MW) during 2015, including the offshore wind farms Nordsee Ost, near Heligoland (295 MW), and Gwynt y Môr off the coast of Wales (576 MW; RWE’s share was reduced from 60% to 50% in October 2015). This means that renewables now account for the largest share of RWE’s generation portfolio after gas and coal. “Renewables are increasingly becoming a main pillar of our business,” says Terium. “Besides the operational business, our entire focus in 2016 will be on restructuring the Group to lay the foundations for further growth.”

Negative net income: significant burdens due to impairments

However, the successes in the Renewables Division and the better than expected progress in implementing the efficiency-enhancement programme, were not sufficient to offset the decline in earnings, in particular in conventional power generation. The continued price-driven decline in margins in conventional power generation was also the reason for €2.1 billion in impairments for the Group’s German and UK power plants. In addition, deferred tax assets of €0.9 billion had to be written down and recognised as a loss. These exceptional burdens brought net income down to -€170 million. In the supply business, which contributed €824 million (2014: €912 million) to the operating result Europe-wide, operational and technical problems in the UK supply business impacted on the result, although the cooler weather compared to 2014 had a positive effect.External revenue posted a marginal increase, rising to €48.6 billion (+0.3%).

Dividend proposal for fiscal 2015

Due to the drastic deterioration of earnings prospects in conventional power generation and the current political uncertainties, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board of RWE AG will propose to the Annual General Meeting on 20 April 2016 a suspension of the dividend for common shares for fiscal 2015 and payment of the minimum dividend for preferred shares (€0.13 per share) as stipulated by the Articles of Incorporation. “In view of the serious crisis in conventional power generation, we need to take further radical measures,” explains Terium. “Substantially boosting our efficiency-enhancement programme will not be enough. That is why, in order to bolster our company, we have taken this difficult but necessary decision regarding our dividend. We are aware that we have disappointed many of our shareholders by taking this step.”

Power generation up 2% year on year, CO2 emissions down 3%

In 2015, the RWE Group produced 213.0 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, an increase of 2% year on year. One reason was that both of the units of the new 1,554-megawatt (MW) hard coal-fired power plant near the Dutch port of Eemshaven started commercial operation on 1 May and 1 July 2015, respectively. The expansion of the Group’s wind power capacity and high wind levels also helped increase electricity production. A counteracting effect was felt from the fact that RWE no longer uses some third-party German hard coal-fired power stations, because the underlying contracts expired and were not renewed. This relates to a total generation capacity of more than 2.4 gigawatts (GW).RWE’s gas and coal-fired power stations emitted 150.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) during 2015, 3% less than in 2014. CO2emissions per megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity generated were also down, dropping from 0.745 to 0.708 metric tons.

Slight rise in electricity sales volume, gas supply volume up 5% year on year

In 2015, RWE supplied 262.1 billion kWh of electricity to external customers, slightly more than in 2014. While the Group achieved gains in sales in the industrial and corporate segment, partly because it won new customers, it experienced a decline in deliveries to German distributors.Gas sales increased by 5% to 296.7 billion kWh. This was in part because the weather in all of RWE’s key markets was colder during the first half of the year than in 2014.

Conventional Power Generation Division

In line with expectations, this division’s operating result declined substantially, dropping by 45% to €543 million. The main reason is that RWE realised lower wholesale prices for its German and Dutch electricity generation than in 2014. This was only somewhat mitigated by price-driven relief in the purchase of fuel (especially hard coal).

Supply/Distribution Networks Germany Division

The operating result posted by this division was in line with the forecast moderate decline.At €1,856 million, it was just below the previous year’s level. One influencing factor was a decrease in income from the sale of networks. Earnings achieved by the German supply business improved. A year before, they were characterised by weather-induced drops in gas sales volume. In addition, the Division benefited from the expansion of its electricity and gas customer base, by 95,000 and 44,000, respectively.

Supply Netherlands/Belgium Division

As anticipated, the division posted a substantial gain in its operating result compared to 2014, driving it up 33% to €194 million. The increase was partly due to a recovery in earnings in the gas supply business following the very mild weather in 2014. The division also successfully marketed new supply offerings.

Supply United Kingdom Division

The division closed the year with an operating loss of €137 million. The main reason was serious process and system-related problems in residential customer billing. Earnings shortfalls also stemmed from the fact that residential and commercial customers switched providers.

Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe Division

The operating result for this division totalled €919 million, one third more than in 2014. This was much better than the moderate decline that was forecast, thanks mainly to one-off income from the first full consolidation of VSE: this change in accounting treatment was subsequent to the revaluation of the investment, which revealed a hidden reserve of €185 million. But even without this effect, the division would have ended the year higher than the previous year, mainly because of successful cost-cutting measures.

Trading/Gas Midstream Division

The operating result posted by RWE Supply & Trading amounted to €156 million, which was below expectations. The weaker performance is in part due to the development in energy trading, where income was slightly below average, after having been very high in the prior year.

Cash Flow

The RWE Group generated cash flows from operating activities amounting to €3,339 million in 2015, well below the 2014 figure of €5,556 million. This reflects the deterioration in conventional power generation margins and one-off effects from a change in the payment schedule for CO2emission allowances, which had had a positive effect on working capital in 2014.

Capital expenditure marginally down on previous year

At €3.3 billion, the RWE Group’s capital expenditure was 4% lower than the figure recorded in the equivalent period last year. There was a considerable drop in capital expenditure in the Conventional Power Generation Division, which in 2014 still focused on the two new hard coal-fired power stations, at Hamm in Germany and at Eemshaven in the Netherlands. Capital expenditure in the Renewables Division also declined significantly. A portion was allocated to the new offshore wind farms Nordsee Ost and Gwynt y Môr.

Headcount unchanged on balance despite streamlining measures

As at 31 December 2015, RWE had 59,762 people on its payroll (converted to full-time positions), roughly as many as in the previous year (59,784). On balance, operating changes caused 1,859 employees to leave the Group, with streamlining measures playing a central role. In contrast, initial consolidations and deconsolidations had a positive net effect, adding 1,837 positions. The full consolidation of VSE alone added 1,559 staff members. The sale of RWE Dea in March did not lead to a change in headcount in 2015, as the company’s employees stopped being included in the figures for the Group in the middle of 2014.

Outlook

For 2016, the RWE Group expects EBITDA of between €5.2 billion and €5.5 billion and an operating result of €2.8 billion to €3.1 billion. Adjusted net income is expected to be between €0.5 billion and €0.7 billion. This represents a considerable decline compared to 2015. One principal reason is the price-induced decline in margins in conventional power generation, which efficiency-enhancement measures will only partly offset. The absence of special items also plays a role. Measures to restructure the UK supply business have begun, and RWE expects further burdens in this area in 2016. Despite the difficult economic environment, both net debt and headcount are expected to remain constant at a Group level.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the future development of the RWE Group and its companies as well as economic and political developments. These statements are assessments that RWE has made based on information available to the company at the time this document was prepared. In the event that the underlying assumptions do not materialise or additional risks arise, actual performance can deviate from the performance expected at present. Therefore, RWE cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy of these statements.

]]>News,Finance,RWEAGTue, 08 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1866/500_rweag.png?10000RWE sets course for successful development in difficult market environmenthttp://news.rwe.com/rwe-sets-course-for-successful-development-in-difficult-market-environment/
http://news.rwe.com/rwe-sets-course-for-successful-development-in-difficult-market-environment/Forecast for 2016: operating result of €2.8 to €3.1 billion expectedRWE achieved its operating earnings goals for 2015 despite unfavourable framework conditions in the energy sector. Based on unaudited pro-forma figures, the Group posted an operating result of €3.8 billion and adjusted net income of €1.1 billion. These figures are within the ranges forecast by the company in March 2015. At €7.0 billion, EBITDA was much higher than expected. However, this was due to special items. Although earnings recorded by the Renewables Division more than doubled compared to 2014, the Group’s operating earnings as a whole deteriorated. The continued collapse of wholesale electricity prices came to bear, leading to an erosion of power plant margins.

The prospects in the conventional power generation business have worsened further. This caused RWE to recognise an impairment of €2.1 billion for its German and UK power stations, which reduced the non-operating result. Moreover, a write-down of €0.9 billion in deferred taxes had to be recognised in the income statement. Due to these exceptional burdens, net income was unusually weak, amounting to -€0.2 billion. RWE took a major step forward in reducing debt: primarily due to the successful sale of the subsidiary RWE Dea in March 2015, net debt dropped by one-fifth to €25.1 billion.

Peter Terium, CEO of RWE AG, says, “With the efficiency-enhancement programme that was launched as early as 2012, the new dividend policy introduced at the end of 2014 and our plans for a future-oriented realignment of the Group, we adopted a series of measures which will equip the Group for difficult times while tapping into new business prospects at the same time. We are working on this with resolve.”

Organisational Realignment

One milestone in the Group’s continued development is the decision taken at the end of 2015 to pool renewables, grids and supply in a new subsidiary and list it on the stock market. RWE plans to increase the new company’s capital by about 10% by the end of 2016 by issuing new shares. The proceeds will be earmarked to finance further growth in forward-looking markets. So far, the company is making rapid progress and is on schedule to make this move.

Efficiency-enhancement Programme

In addition, RWE will step up its efficiency-enhancement programme substantially. By the end of 2015, a lasting positive effect on earnings of €1.6 billion had already been achieved with the programme, which was initiated in 2012. €200 million of this sum was realised in the past financial year – €100 million more than planned. Now the company intends to initiate additional measures to improve its operational strength. The focus lies on conventional power generation and the UK supply business, which will be restructured comprehensively. The overall goal of the efficiency-enhancement programme is now €2.5 billion (previously €2.0 billion). It will be achieved in 2018 (previously 2017).

Dividend proposal by the Executive Board

The Executive Board of RWE AG has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting a suspension of the dividend payment to holders of common shares for fiscal 2015. For owners of preferred shares, the proposed dividend corresponds to the preferred share of profits of €0.13 per share stipulated by the Articles of Association. The backdrop is the recent dramatic deterioration of the earnings prospects of conventional power generation. Another reason for this decision by the Executive Board are the current political risks. “In light of the current economic prospects of conventional power generation, we reached a decision concerning the dividend today that did not come easily to us. We know that we might disappoint many shareholders with today’s decision. However, it is necessary in order to strengthen our company,” says Peter Terium, CEO of RWE AG. “A dividend policy with good measure, which corresponds to what is feasible, is also in the interests of the shareholders. We will harness all our forces in order to master the crisis in conventional power generation, while seizing the business opportunities we are offered by the structural change in the energy sector.”

Forecast for 2016

For 2016, RWE expects EBITDA of €5.2 to €5.5 billion, an operating result of €2.8 to €3.1 billion and adjusted net income of €0.5 to €0.7 billion. This represents a considerable decline compared to 2015. Besides the erosion of margins in conventional power generation, the absence of the positive special items recorded last year also comes to bear. RWE plans to tackle the operating and technical problems in the UK supply business with resolve, but anticipates burdens in this area again in 2016. Net debt and headcount at the Group level are unlikely to change significantly compared to 2015.